Many Rooms
by SophieGrace
Summary: A fairy tale romance drama based on Beauty and the Beast. Adele, a softhearted gifted daughter of a merchant, takes her father's place in a magical castle and meets the king of Audenland, a tortured man confined to many rooms.
1. Chapter 1

** Prologue **

We say that it is romantic that a selfless beauty would choose to marry an ugly beast out of the kindness of her heart and out of love.

But you do not name yourself.

For why would a beauty call herself Beauty and why would a beast call himself Beast? They are names christened to them based on their outwardly appearances in a world, I suppose, filled with shallow people who call others just by what they see. A deadly trap, for what's inside, quite obviously, says more about who you are than the color of your skin or the shape of your nose.

And so I choose to believe, that in another world, this man and this woman were both named not by their looks but by the soul they carried within their bodies. Two souls that met to destroy old beastliness and create new beauty. Two people who came to learn self-sacrifice, healing, and love.

Two: one beauty and one beast.

** Chapter One **

In Audenland, trees are hard to come by due to the merciless spoilage of the land when kings had ruled with iron fists and Sovereigns had not existed. If one travels westward past the bounteous towns and into the marshes, small austere berry bearing trees could be encountered, straining to stretch feeble fingers toward the sun. These scarlet berries are hard picking, but if the agitating powder that falls from the surrounding leaves when disturbed is not enough to discourage a desirous traveler, its hard metallic taste surely will. Some blamed the death of the trees on the late King Belden whose whim of establishing a city that would hover above Lake Launce resulted in a tragic nonsuccess. Those people were surprised but also did not withhold their belief when magnificent oak trees sprang up from the center of the country a mere year after Belden's death. The oaks, in contrast with the marshy growths no one bothered to name, towered high above all nearby towns and as quickly as news spread of the appearance of a grandiose magical forest, the news of the sudden disappearance of the royal castle reached every ear in Audenland.

I heard of all this from my father, whose own ears are failing but sight and wit seem as keen as ever. As a merchant, he gained most of his wealth from trading overseas. When at the beginning of his profession he left home for months at a time, not only conducting the business but accompanying his ships to foreign lands, he is now prosperous enough to sit in his burgundy armchair warming his joints as servants approach occasionally with ink, quill, and documents to sign. I do not remember a time when he was away on a business trip, for those days also happened before I was born. I am now just past fifteen and nearing an age by which a young girl should be given away. However, in my household, marriage is not an overbearing concern. Both my sisters, Aubrianna and Asceline, who are older than me are yet unmarried despite the attention of many suitors. I believe they are aware that it is impossible to tell, if you are wealthy _and_ comely, if the suitors' intentions are pure or out of material appetite. Even the most honorable of the men know that a handsome dowry is packaged with any one of us. My brothers are naturally scholarly and each is learning his own trade. My father doesn't care to be rid of us, for the manor in which we live is large enough to house ten times the family of our size.

Our house was renamed Rose Red by my mother. Its rich dark wood shines and looks like red velvet when the sun sets on certain days. I could never predict when those days would be but Vern explained to me that when it is cloudy the sun's rays reflect off particles of water in the air so that the sunset turns scarlet. My mother had a natural appreciation for the sunsets. I used to find her on many days sitting on her private balcony, staring into the distance, allowing the glow to surround her, to create halos around her head, to embrace her. She would embrace me, and take me onto her lap where she would whisper wonderful stories about Daphyr the fairy queen. I learned quickly from her how to believe in things that I could not see. I believed in the fairies and that Daphyr was their beautiful queen. No one else in my family quite believed my mother's stories - until they came.

It was a cloudy day. The sky threatened to crack open and pour out a flood yet it did not, as if an invisible force was keeping the rain from falling. My mother seemed tense and murmured to me that strange weather was often an omen. I sat close by as Darrel, Brennon, and Vern played aggressively with chess pieces, the checkered board forgotten and discarded near an armchair. At the time, I was barely more than four years old. When someone pounded on our front doors, I ran to hide behind my mother's skirts and trembled as Rose Red shook. I saw from behind lace and satin my father calmly standing with feet shoulder-width apart and gesturing with one hand for our large front doors to be opened. Next, I heard a boom and a roar of deep jubilant laughter. A well-dressed man entered with an equally splendidly dressed woman. But they were both at least a head taller than my father, who was a fairly large man.

"Thierry! Have you been expecting us?" the man chuckled loudly, not noticing the frightened looks on our faces. "I suppose you weren't. Well, then, might as well lift the spell – the clouds are practically bulging by now. There, now where were we?" The rain was finally pouring outside, so loud that nature's relief could be heard through the pounding of water.

The tall woman smiled benignly, red lips curving slightly. "I am Aurora. He is Haben. Queen Daphyr asked us to pay you a visit." She turned slowly, taking in everything before her. The wide entrance hall with a marble floor, the warmly colored sitting room where my brothers and I were playing, the grand staircase, and the brightly lit dining room, all set for a family dinner, branching out to the left. "Your house is beautiful. Rose Red, isn't she? Interesting that it is made of wood. Possibly built before Belden's rule? Yes…. It's been in the Roswoods family line for decades."

We all watched as she touched a wall of our entrance hall adoringly. Had it been a human caressing the auburn walls, we would have thought she was slightly mad, but from a fairy, the image was breath taking, moral, affectionate. She broke out of her trance and turned to us in her shimmering dress. "Shall we eat?"

"Yes! Thierry, good man, call us to the table, won't you?" Haben chortled, his hands resting on his broad stomach.

Our servants began to move at once, scuttling and bumping into one another. My mother picked me up and carried me into our dining room, festively lit with a candelabrum. No one except Haben and Aurora had spoken since the door was opened. There was a sharp contrast between the animated Haben and serene Aurora and the nervous inhabitants of Rose Red. Fairy visits were rare. No one could foretell their timing or reasons for emerging into the midst of humans but it was agreed upon that fairies should be treated with deference, considering the strength of their magic.

I was fascinated with the fairy Aurora, her otherworldly beauty was striking and I saw that all my siblings were gazing at her, too. Vern, seven at the time, however was obviously very distrustful of the two strangers. He took the place beside me as my mother sat at the other.

"Six! Six, Thierry! This is quite a family here, I'm impressed." Haben beamed at us. "Avalien. We knew you would end up happy."

My mother, who was the only one immensely pleased with the fairies' company, beamed back. "I truly am. Oh, excuse me, Haben, Aurora, you haven't met our children yet!" My mother placed her hand on my head. "This little one's name is Adele. That's Vern, Aubrianna and Asceline, they're twins, and that one's Brennon then our oldest, Darrel."

Aurora's eyes had not left me. "Avalien, you must be proud. They're a handsome group, and Adele…. She's such a pretty thing – if you don't mind me asking, she is an autumn child, isn't she?

That was the end of my memory of our only fairy visit, incredibly detailed for something out of a toddler's mind yet revealing everything and nothing at the same time…. Because they had come to our home for a reason and Aurora had taken an interest in me for a reason, reasons I did not know of until much later, told from the point of view of someone whose memory was clearer and more complete. The knowledge it would reveal will set both my destiny and my identity.

..:Sophie:..


	2. Chapter 2

** Chapter Two **

How the line of kings had ended is a mystery, mainly because the Sovereigns don't allow for the stories to circulate. People neither talk of it nor think of it. Soon after the forest had sprung up, troops of people entered it to search for the castle. Most of them never returned. The few that did swore that they didn't see anything; they simply wandered for weeks and weeks to the point where they thought they were marching in circles, then one day, they were back at the edge of the forest.

The Sovereigns took power then. After King Belden's death, the favorite of his chancellors stepped up and claimed Audenland for himself. Of course, there was a short civil war following it amongst the other advisors, the supporters of the chancellor, and the limited group that still believed that Belden's only heir was still alive. Two and a half decades later, nobody knows much about this supposed heir. He has no name, no face, and no place in Audenland.

The current ruler, Sovereign Salus is a powerful man. With his shrewdness and callous handling of foreign affairs, he managed to expand the country by almost a third, conquering the small nations crowding around the eastern boundary. His persona as a ruler, I applaud. As a man, I distrust. Maybe it is because of the circumstances under which I met him almost eleven years ago but I've never been comfortable with him.

The day that I met Salus, other more important things happened. The memory of what came to pass is lucid, like the fairy visit, but I wish it weren't so.

Five years old then, I was in the upstairs nursery with Gail, the nanny. The others were all too old to be confined in a room, Vern only joining me when Darrel or Brennon were doing something too difficult for him tag along. Right then, my brothers were in the stables, on the watch for my mother who was at Launce, called the King's City. She had gone with my father on business, promising to bring gifts for my siblings and me.

Gail was helping me form words with lettered blocks of wood when suddenly, a commotion sounded downstairs. Women were screaming and I heard feet pounding up the stairs, people rushing back and forth right outside the door, my father barking at the maids.

I flung open the door in alarm and ran down the stairs, abandoning my nanny. Midway, Darrel met me with a stricken look on his face and scooped me into his arms. But not before I saw what was in the entrance hall. My mother was on a stretch of fabric held at both ends by men I'd never seen, wrapped in layers and layers of cloth, and slathered with blood, everywhere except her face. She was looking at my father weakly, holding out a hand to him. He gripped her hand, at the same time yelling at my brother, "Take her! Take her into the room and don't let her out!"

I kicked and screamed in desperation and broke free of Darrel's grip, only to be caught by Vern and Brennon at the foot of the stairway. I cried out for my mother but in exhaustion, her eyes were closed. I saw a tear streak her face.

Once inside my room, Darrel held me in his lap, back against the door, shaking. Vern and Brennon looked fearful. I sobbed loudly into my brother's clothes.

I don't know how long we were in that room. But eventually, when my tears had dried and silence filled the chamber, my father opened the door.

Darrel and the others quickly rose to their feet. I was still gathered in Darrel's arms. We were all led into my parents' large bedroom; the metallic smell of blood assaulted us. Aubrianna and Asceline were standing in a corner together, holding hands and looking lost. A handful of maids exited quietly, some weeping.

My mother was propped against pillows on the bed. Her face and hair was covered with the sheen of sweat and she was breathing harshly. A smile spread over her features as she saw her children then lifted a hand to her firstborn. His eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were a thin line but I knew he wouldn't cry.

"Oh, Darrel, don't look so grave." Her voice was a whisper. Darrel looked even worse at that utterance, as if he was going to throw up. She lifted both her arms to him; he hesitated for a moment then leaned in to hug her. I heard her whisper something into his ear. He nodded bravely, stepped back, and allowed Brennon forward.

She spoke to each of us softly, saying goodbyes and don't worries, looking more and more weaker by the moment. I remained silent, confused but knowing something horrible and final was happening.

Here my memory skips and I'm already next to her on the bed, one of her arms wrapped around me. "Darling, I brought you something. Here, isn't that beautiful? Just like you. Did you know you're beautiful?" Her voice cracks. "I love you, Adele…. My little beauty."

She holds a gold chain, a rose bud imprinted on a thin gold piece, the size and shape of a coin, hanging from it like a pendulum. A small diamond was studded in the center of the rose and others framed the edge of the coin. She places it around my neck then flinches suddenly from pain. A wrenching cry escapes her. Her face is white.

"Adele, just remember. Mommy will always be near you. Be selfless. But this one thing you must be greedy for: always search for love. Love, Adele. Like mommy loves you, you must find love."

She puts both arms around me and holds me. Another cry of pain. She's gripping me tightly. Breathing shallowly. Wimpering. There's warmth and wetness all over my front. She's shaking horribly and maids rush in. I feel myself begin to cry again.

"Did you hear me, Adele? Remember that…."

I continue to wail. I am hanging on to her neck, thinking only of her agony.

Then suddenly, something changes. Like a lightning bolt or sunrise, everything seems different. It is either the atmosphere or my senses, but one or the other is intensified. A new part of me feels awakened. Along with hearing, seeing, and smelling, there's something else. My arms and hands are tingling and I feel my stomach tense. There's a burning sensation.

My mother seems to be relaxing, her breathing becomes steady, and the color returns to her face.

The pain is suffused throughout my body now. My stomach is splitting open. My head is spinning. My ears are ringing. Every bone is throbbing.

She looks at me, mortified. She tries to pry my hands away. In a frightened voice, she screams, "Thierry, look what she's doing!"

I am ripped away from my mother's side and as quickly as it started, the pain vanishes and all I see is black.

Hours later, I woke up to being in my darkened room. The sun had set. Gail was softly snoring in a chair beside my bed. I felt disoriented but forced myself to crawl out and walk downstairs. My father was in the sitting room. A fire was roaring in the grate. There was another man there, a tall man who was speaking soberly to my father's hunched form.

"I am truly remorseful. Launce was said to be secure, absolutely no danger was suspected. It's a surprise that a segment of the city would simply break off into the lake. The only accident like this that ever took place was 25 years ago when King Belden and his wife…. Sovereign Thallis will make sure that the costs for the funerals are taken care of. The other families are being visited as well, we would just like to know if there's anything the Sovereign could do to lessen -"

"The grief?" my father suggested softly. "Not having to pay for the funeral would lessen our grief?"

The other man said nothing.

"Salus, come back again when the Sovereign is ready to pay not for the funeral but with his own sincerity."

Salus's voice darkened. "Sovereign Thallis alone isn't responsible for this. And in any case, he is not obligated to _feel_ anything for these tragedies – if you need reminding, he is the sovereign of Audenland."

"But he is _not _king!" my father broke in so angrily that I jumped. "That city should have been inspected. There were thousands of people at Launce, there are thousands of people at Launce every day. And that such a catastrophe was allowed to happen shows how much the present day royalty gives a damn about any of us. My six children lost their mother today. How do you think this will affect their lives?"

"These things happen," Salus responded detachedly.

My father stared icily at him. "Get out of my house."

"I'll express your gratitude to the Sovereign." He bowed and turned toward the doorway, where I was standing. I was finally noticed. He raised his eyebrows.

"Hello, little girl."

His hair was the color of tar, his face angular. He looked neither kind nor unkind, neither handsome, nor plain. His eyes were black, like the room I had left.

"Poor child. Suffering such a loss at your age." He stepped closer and held me gently against him, stroking my head. I froze. "Poor girl. But you'll get along. You'll get along."

When he released me, I ran past him into the sitting room, turned and watched as he strode out of our home.

He was hardhearted and apathetic but also right. For I did get along and my family moved on. I still had a father and three brothers who loved me along with two sisters who could have helped raise me. I was so very young when Avalien of Roswood passed away. Eleven years later, I have a bank of memories in the locked box in my mind but the images seem almost like fables to me, from someone else's life to be enjoyed and treasured. However, what still remains to be an immediate part of me is the strange power that was awakened that day.

..:Sophie:..


End file.
